Publisher's information 2003
The White Rose Challenge Walk links two well known land marks - The White Horse of Kilburn and Roseberry Topping - and much of the walk is along the Cleveland Way through the western escarpment of the Hambleton and Cleveland Hills. Given good weather the White Rose Challenge Walk affords wonderful views across the Vale of Mowbray and York where many a Pennine peaks are clearly visible - fantastic vistas and a pure delight for everyone to do - truly!
It originated some time in 1967 by the Yorkshire Wayfarers Rambling Club of York (the staff of the Yorkshire Insurance Company later to become General Accident) as an alternative to the Lyke Wake Walk which they did every year since it's inception in 1964. They got fed up with doing east to west, west to east, so some committee members thought, for a change, they'd devise a north to south or south to north long distance walk over the North York Moors. It was first undertaken and completed by them in June 1968 - the bi-centenery of Captain James Cook's First Voyage of Discovery and a great co-incidence as the northern part of the walk was "Cook's Playground". At 4.15 a.m. 46 members set off from York in a coach with support cars to commence the north-south route from Newton Under Roseberry (nearer home for them to finish at Kilburn!). 41 finished.
The grandeur of the Hambleton and Cleveland hills, the romance of the Old Drove Road and the landmark start and finish - even the badge and certificate for successful walkers all had its place in influencing and securing this now famous long distance path!
In May 1970 Longlands College Students and staff first attempted the walk when 60 of the students succeeded in completing the detailed south to north crossing and were awarded College certificates and lapel badges.
The youngest person recorded completing the walk was 7 year old Sean Donnelly on the 24th May, 1975 and later that year - 30th August 1975, Harry Suddaby of Cottingham finished the walk on his 70th birthday lighting a cake on Roseberry Topping's apex!
Numerous parties have followed the ancient trod - all raising hundreds, thousand even tens of thousand of pounds for charity . . . and now it's your turn for Yorskhire and Sheffield's very own White Rose Childrens Charity!
